Why You Need Medivac & Travel Insurance

Do you need travel insurance when away from home? It is tempting to see this as an unnecessary cost, but traditional health insurance and credit card coverage remain very limited in “out of the ordinary” circumstances.

Here at Momenta, we require all our overseas workshop participants to get Medical Evacuation Insurance and we typically suggest purchasing travel insurance as well because so many of our students register for a workshop so far in advance.

We recommend Travel Insure coverage plans to help protect your trip and provide medi-vac insurance. This company offers the best and most affordable deals we have found and we use it for all our staff on our overseas adventures. You can estimate flight costs and incidentals and purchase a protection policy. The Cancel at Any Time policy provides the most complete coverage they offer to get your money back for the workshop fees, airlines, hotels, etc. should you need to cancel your plans unexpectedly.

Travel Insure has provided this special link for our customers:
http://www.travelinsure.com/what/selecthigh.asp?32984

— OR —

If you prefer to call on the phone instead, you can use the reference code: 32984*

*Travel Insure is currently available at +1 (800) 937‑1387 from Monday – Friday, 9 AM – 7 PM EST

Travel insurance comes to the rescue for a working travel photographer:

“I always thought travel insurance was a bit of waste, right up until I actually needed it,” said Jamie Rose, co-founder of Momenta.

“Dulles Airport was hit by a sudden snowstorm but my carrier kept delaying our flight but not canceling it. By the time it was cancelled, my husband couldn’t pick me up, the hotels were almost all booked, and everyone was standing at the gate screaming about re-bookings.

“I called Travel Insure’s emergency hotline. They instantly told me how to be reimbursed when I purchased emergency necessities, a taxi to my hotel, the hotel room at Dulles, and my hotel room which I pre-booked for my first night in India. The next morning, I emailed all my receipts and documentation needed and I had my reimbursement check before I returned from my trip. I was so impressed at how easy it was and try never to travel without their policies for business or personal trips.”

Travel insurance is a safe bet for most travelers in these types of unforeseen events:

Medical: In case of accident or illness, travel insurance covers out-of-network treatment, not only reimbursing costs but often providing assistance with finding a hospital.

Evacuation: Even if your health insurance policy covers all of your medical bills when abroad, they likely won’t cover transportation back to safety. Emergency evacuation can cost upward of $100,000 according to the CDC.

Dangerous activities: The majority of medical insurers and credit cards will not cover injury sustained while participating in what is deemed a “dangerous activity” which can sometimes as simple as swimming in the ocean!

Baggage: The SITA Baggage report notes that 21.6 million bags were mishandled in 2016 alone. Most travel insurers will cover mishandled luggage far beyond what may be included by the airline or your credit card, especially if you are carrying expensive equipment such as camera gear or a laptop.

Trip cancellation and delays: A trip may need to be cancelled for many different reasons, to say nothing of trip delays and cancelled flights. Within the US alone, under 80% of flights arrived on time in 2017 to date according to the DoT. The good news is some credit cards cover cancellation and delays, but the downside is only about 15% of credit cards do so. Travel insurance is a must in case of unforeseen circumstances or airline debacles.

Why You Need Medivac & Travel Insurance

Do you need travel insurance when away from home? It is tempting to see this as an unnecessary cost, but traditional health insurance and credit card coverage remain very limited in “out of the ordinary” circumstances.

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